ACCOMAC, VIRGINIA (October 9, 2017) – A unique gift of appreciation was presented to Robert “Bob” S. Bloxom, Sr. and George N. McMath for their support of the new regional library by service as Honorary Chairs of the Eastern Shore Public Library Foundation’s capital campaign. The Foundation recently presented Honorables McMath and Bloxom genealogical charts compiled by M.K. “Moody” Miles. Both McMath and Bloxom served in the Virginia House of Delegates. During the first phase of the library’s capital campaign, the Foundation raised two-thirds of the funds needed for the $5 million project. The ESPL Foundation Board of Directors appreciate the visibility Bloxom and McMath gave to the campaign, spurring its success.

Photo attached: Left to right: Fitz Godwin, Chairman of ESPL Foundation Capital Campaign’s first phase, Honorable Bob Bloxom, M.K. “Moody” Miles, and Honorable George McMath, and are pictured. Miles presented Bloxom and McMath with their family history in appreciation for their support of the first regional library.

The gift highlights the value of the library’s world-class local history collection that will be housed in the new Eastern Shore of Virginia Heritage Center within the new library. M.K. Miles’ research is well-known and can be found in the MilesFiles, which contains over 83,000 names from the Eastern Shore counties of Accomack and Northampton, Virginia; Somerset, Worcester and Wicomico, Maryland; and Sussex Coounty, Delaware. Free to use through the library’s website, the MilesFiles received 44,162 uses last year. Additionally, the library’s Ancestry.com account was accessed over 16,000 times last year by individuals within one of the four Eastern Shore of Virginia libraries. This fee-based service is provided for free if used within the library. The facility to be built in Parksley will provide increased and climate controlled space for new archival collections and research equipment. The library’s collections hold valuable, one-of-a-kind documents covering United States history from before Jamestown to the historical figures of the Civil Rights movement. Indexes to these resources can be found on the library’s website, www.espl.org.

To learn more about the Eastern Shore of Virginia’s first regional library or to donate, visit the ESPL Foundation’s website, www.shorelibrary.com or call (757) 787-2500.